6 Tips to Maximize iPad Battery Life

The iPad battery is advertised to last 10 hours and that number really isn’t exaggerated, the battery life is phenomenal. No adjustments are needed to get 8-10 hours of use out of the iPad, but if you want to squeeze the absolute longest amount of battery use possible, you can adjust a few settings to prolong the life even further.

Lower the Screen Brightness – We discussed this in a recent iPad tips post, but other than being easier on the eyes this will make the single biggest difference in battery life. With how bright the iPad 2 and Pad 3 displays are, you can usually get away with 60% brightness at all times. At night, going down to 30% or 40% brightness or less is easier on the eyes and will conserve even more battery. Access the setting by double-tapping the home button and swiping to the left.

Turn Off Notifications – Is it crucial to get a notification every time it’s your turn in Draw Something? Probably not. Disable Notifications for apps you don’t absolutely have to have notifications posted for and you can recoup some battery life. Find this in Settings > Notifications, and disable them.

Disable Bluetooth – If you aren’t using Bluetooth for an external wireless keyboard or otherwise, keep it disabled

Use Airplane Mode – When doing something that doesn’t require internet access, turning on AirPlane Mode can save some battery life. Perfect for reading books or doing things on the iPad, and it has the added bonus of preventing internet distractions. Find this in Settings > Airplane Mode

Disable Location Services – Most important for 3G/4G iPads, but you will save battery life even if you just have a Wi-Fi model. Turn these off in Settings > Location Services

Disable Diagnostic & Usage Reports – Sending out usage and diagnostic reports helps Apple to make a better iOS experience, but it also causes some minor activity in the background. Disable it for maximum battery conservation. Find this in Settings > General > About > Diagnostic & Usage > Don’t Send

You’ll find these tips have value beyond the iPad too, and carefully adjusting settings can help to conserve battery for other iOS devices and even Macs.

This sounds all very useful but ‘knocking’ out all these features, what is left than? Being offered these features on a iPad means that Apple needs to work on battery drainage instead of users having to shut down all of these features which are offered

I agree with others commenting on this article, these “tips” are simply not required. Whoever put this article together needs to question their career path – perhaps you’d be better suited to a gardening website, fashion perhaps? Not technology … get your facts correct before writing stupid useless articles (BTW I don’t run with scissors in my pocket either, but that’s a great tip also)

To you jackwagons who think these tips are not needed, why did you click on the dang article? Bored with your life? Those of us with ipad 3’s who aren’t tethered to the power outlet in mom’s basement find that we can’t get through a day without a recharge and constantly fight the battery drain problem. I appreciate the tips given above.

Personally I am soured by the exaggerated battery life claims of the IPad 3 as well as the MBP 13″- Apple seems to be able to get away with long battery life claims by users who know the truth but are in “battery life denial mode”- hmmmmm…